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Zakithi coasts into 400m final to keep SA world champs medal hopes alive 

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Zakithi Nene kept his medal quest very much on track by coasting through to the 400m final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Tuesday. By Karien Jonckheere

The KZN star looked to be in complete control as he claimed victory in his semifinal in a time of 44.20 seconds. 

In an ominous warning to his rivals, the 27-year-old reckoned afterwards: “I felt good, I think this is the best my body has felt all season. I managed that race pretty well, very comfortable, did what I needed to do, and that’s what I’m happy about. 

“My coach believes it’s very difficult to beat a confident athlete and that’s what I am right now. My confidence is at an all-time high.”

As for what the plan is between now and the final on Thursday evening (3.10pm SA time), he added: “It’s all about recovery, getting myself prepped for that final. I’ve just been saving myself and saving myself as much as I can, and we survive and advance.”

Zakithi headed to Tokyo with the fastest 400m time in the world this year – the 43.76 seconds he ran in Nairobi in May. But that mantle was taken off him in the second semifinal in Tokyo as Botswana’s Busang Collen Kebinatshipi claimed victory in a sizzling 43.61 seconds.

The third semifinal was won by another athlete from Botswana, Bayapo Ndori, in 44.21 seconds, with his compatriot Lee Bhekempilo Eppie also making it to the final, meaning half the field hails from Southern Africa.

Meanwhile, Lythe Pillay was the only other South African in action at the world champs on Tuesday. He finished sixth in his semifinal in 44.82 seconds, so missing out on Thursday’s final. Even before the race, he had set his sights on the part he needs to play in the 4x400m relay. 

“My coach and physio were a bit angry at me for saying it, but for me, I was looking at the semi as a nice prep run for the relay,” he admitted afterwards.

“I went out, I gave it guts and glory. It didn’t pay out this time for the final, but at least I know I’m consistent, the body’s there, things are clicking, so come the relay, I’m really far more confident that I can contribute towards my team.” 

Nene ready to ‘swim with the big sharks’ in world champs medal bid

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Zakithi Nene arrived in Tokyo as one of the standout 400m contenders, having lowered his personal best multiple times this season, including a world-leading 43.76 seconds at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi. By Karien Jonckheere

Reflecting on his season, Nene reckoned: “I’m very much happy with how the season played out. I’ve been very consistent in running low 44s and breaking the 44 barrier as well, with the new PB of 43.7. So I’m very much chuffed with how things transpired, and the momentum that I’ve built throughout, and I’m just looking to draw strength from that.”

The KZN star certainly looked to be building on those performances as he cruised through his opening heat in the 400m in Tokyo on Sunday, looking supremely comfortable as he coasted to victory in 44.34 seconds to book a spot in the semifinals.

Nene’s journey to the Japanese capital hasn’t been without challenges, however. A grade 2 hamstring tear during warm-up before a meet in Budapest posed a serious setback. But, while the leg remains strapped, the two-time Olympian reckoned: “I felt good. That tear that I picked up in Budapest got me a little worried, given that it was five weeks before the championship, but I was able to recover well. 

“I wasn’t going to jump on that flight from South Africa to Japan if I wasn’t confident that I could be competitive, and I showed that right now.” 

While confidence is high, the 27-year-old was still feeling the pressure coming into these championships as the world leader. So he turned to veteran Akani Simbine to ask for advice. “I was just asking how you deal with having a target on your back, going from being the hunter to being the hunted. And one thing he said that stuck with me is you’ve got to own it. And that’s what I’m doing right now.

“Pressure is self-inflicted. It’s all about how you choose to navigate around it. It’s either you sink or you swim, and I’m ready to swim with the big sharks.”

Looking ahead, Nene’s ambitions are clear: “What am I hoping for in Tokyo? I’m hoping to put my best foot forward. I’m hoping to make the final and challenge for the podium and challenge for that gold medal.” 

Looking at his form so far, Nene is certainly in the mix to do just that, starting with tomorrow’s semifinals, happening at 14h45 (SA Time) followed by the final on Thursday.

SA sprint duo make 100m history, but medals prove elusive in Tokyo final

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Akani Simbine and Gift Leotlela ensured South Africa had two representatives in the 100m final for the first time in World Athletics Championships history in Tokyo on Sunday. But a medal was not to be for the duo, with Leotlela finishing fifth in 9.95 seconds and Simbine seventh in 10.04. By Karien Jonckheere

After a false start from Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, who was then disqualified, it was Jamaica’s Oblique Seville who outgunned the pack to take gold in a speedy 9.77 seconds, with his compatriot Kishane Thompson second in 9.82 and defending world champion and Olympic gold medallist Noah Lyles settling for bronze in 9.89 seconds.

Speaking afterwards, Simbine explained he had suffered cramp at the beginning of the race – something he wasn’t able to overcome to perform at his best.

“I cramped up a bit at the start and just couldn’t recover from that,” he said. “We’re just going to reassess how the body is and hopefully I’m good to go for the [4x100m] relay.”

Unlike Simbine, who has now featured in seven major championship finals, Leotlela was competing in his first after an impressive two days, which included running a blistering 9.87 seconds in the heats.

“It was amazing, I don’t want to lie, starting from last night, and I got a lot of confidence from the heats… I ran three sub-10s in two days, so I’ll take that as a big win.”

Adriaan Wildschutt finished in 10th spot in the 10,000m final earlier in the evening after losing touch with the leaders with just under a lap to go. He finished in 28 minutes 59.47 seconds, with the gold going to Frenchman Jimmy Gressier in 28:55.77 seconds.

“I just had to stay connected and conserve as much energy as possible and see how hard I could close. I didn’t quite have it towards the end, but I was there with 300m to go and I’m pretty proud of that,” said Wildschutt.

Earlier in the evening, both Zakithi Nene and Lythe Pillay eased through their respective heats to book places in the 400m semifinals. Current world leader Nene won his heat in 44.34 seconds with Pillay second in his heat in 44.73.

“Not a lot of athletes can say they’ve gone into world championships as world leader and that’s an achievement on its own that one should be proud of. So I’m wearing my bib with pride, I’ve got a target on my back, but I’m ready to defend it,” he said of the special blue numbers reserved for those who have run the fastest times of the year in each event. 

The other South Africans to impress on Sunday were Marioné Fourie, who finished second in her 100m hurdles heat in 12.86 seconds to book a spot in Monday’s semifinals, while Tshepo Tshite finished sixth in his 1500m heat in 3:36.36 to also progress to the next round.

How Team South Africa Performed on Tuesday

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Three sporting codes represent Team SA at the Olympics on Tuesday, although none of them are involved in determining any medals.

Team SA sprinter Benjamin Richardson has been withdrawn from Paris 2024 and will take no further part in these Olympics. In confirming the news, the Team SA chief medical officer Dr Jean de Wilde said: “Benjamin sustained a hamstring injury in the men’s 200m heats on Monday and has been withdrawn from all further competition.”

Athletics: 
Women’s 400m Repechage Round (Heat 2) 
Miranda Coetzee ran her personal best time in the Repechage race, qualifying for the Semi-Final on Tuesday, 7 August.

Men’s 400m Semi Final
Lythe Pillay finished seventh in his Semi-Final race. His position and time were, however, not enough to secure him a spot in the Final.

Men’s 400m Semi Final
Zakithi Nene finished sixth in his Semi-Final race. His position and time were, however, also not enough to secure him a spot in the Final.

Women’s 400m Hurdles Semi Final 1
Zeney Geldenhuys ran her personal best time in her Semi-Final race, finishing third. Her position and time were, however, not enough to secure her a spot in the Final.

Women’s 400m Hurdles Semi Final 2
Rogail Joseph also ran her personal best time in her Semi-Final race, finishing third. Her position and time were, however, not enough to secure her a spot in the Final.

Sport Climbing:
Women’s Boulder & Lead, Semi Final Boulder
Lauren Mukheibir had a challenging start to the competition, finishing 20th overall.

Men’s Speed – Qualification
Joshua Bruyns was eliminated in the Qualification Elimination heats, preventing him from progressing to the Final.

Canoe Sprint:
Men’s Kayak Double 500m Heats
Hamish Lovemore and Andrew Birkett finished second in their Quarter-Final race, securing a position in the Semi-Final.

Women’s Kayak Double 500m Heats
Esti Olivier and Tiffany Amber Koch finished 6th in their Quarter-Final race and did not manage to qualify for the Semi-Final.

SA champs wraps up with four new automatic qualifiers for Paris Olympics

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The SA Athletics Championships came to an end in Pietermaritzburg on Sunday with four athletes having added their names to the list of automatic qualifiers for the Olympic Games later this year. They were Zeney Geldenhuys and Rogail Joseph in the 400m hurdles, Benjamin Richardson in the 200m and Lythe Pillay in the 400m, while Zakithi Nene achieved his second qualifying time over 400m at these championships.

The final day’s action saw Marione Fourie claiming a fourth straight national title in the 100m hurdles, winning in a time of 13.01 seconds with Kayla van der Bergh second in 13.40 and former SA record holder Taylon Bieldt third in 13.46.

Fourie admitted afterwards: “Before the race, my brain didn’t want to get the steps in before the first hurdle so I was a little bit stressed but the time wasn’t too bad for my second race [of the season].”

Eight-time champion in the 110m hurdles Antonio Alkana withdrew from the final after overstretching his calf muscle in the warm-up. In his absence, SW Nel claimed his first ever title in 13.73 seconds, so emulating his father and coach, Wimpie, who won the SA title twice, in 1992 and 1993.

“It feels amazing. I didn’t expect it at all. All the hard work is paying off so I’m glad. I have a good coach who I trust so I’m very happy at the moment,” said Nel junior afterwards.

As for being coached by his dad, he joked: “It’s a bit of a pain in the butt because he says: ‘My time was faster,’ or ‘I did it twice.’ So I have to win it two times more and beat his time so I’m almost on his level.”

Speaking about Alkana withdrawing from the final, Nel added: “I was a bit disappointed. If he had run, I think I would have run a better time but I’m happy with the position.”

Also thrilled was his proud dad: “Words can’t describe it. It’s a very humbling feeling,” he beamed.

Meanwhile, after her second place in the 5000m earlier in the competition, Prudence Sekgodiso comfortably defended her 1500m title, pulling away from the pack just before the bell, and cruising to victory in a time of 4:13.09. Charne Swart was second in 4:16.89 and Carina Viljoen third in 4:19.29.

“The race was something else. I have a calf problem, I felt it in the 5k and I wanted to come out in the 5k but I thought – let me just finish it – but the 1500 is my event so I had to show who I am and chase for that gold medal and that’s what I did. It was nice,” she said.

“I regret running that 5k to be honest. Honestly, that was my last,” added Sekgodiso who has set her sights on breaking the SA 1500m record.

Jerry Motsau had a tougher fight on his hands to claim the men’s 1500m title 10 years after winning his first. He fended off his challengers in the final 200m finishing in 3:38.82 with Nkosinathi Sibiya second in 3:39.02 and Niel van der Merwe third in 3:39.78.

“It was a bit of a challenge but if you’re strong in your head, you pull through. I told myself I mustn’t give up, I should run through the tape, so that’s what I did,” he said.

In the field events, Kyle Blignaut defended his shot put title with a best throw of 20.36m, while Mire Reinstorf took women’s pole vault gold with a clearance of 4.15m.

 

Van Niekerk scrapes into 400m final and Gianmarco Tamberi wins high jump gold

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Wayde van Niekerk had South Africans holding their breath as he missed out on automatic qualification for the 400m final at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest on Tuesday.

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The Rio Olympic champion and world record holder finished third in the first of three semifinals, leading to an anxious wait to see if his time of 44.65 was quick enough to see him through to Thursday’s final. In the end, it proved enough, but the 2017 world champion was not happy with his performance.

“Tonight was very disappointing. Obviously not close to what we all know I can do,” he admitted afterwards. “But I live to see another day. I’ve got a day of recovery. The final is a great opportunity for each and every one of us. It’s all about the one who wants it the most, so these next few days I have to get my head right and prove to myself that this is what I want and then we put our best foot forward in the final.”

Gianmarco Tamberi put on a thrilling performance in the Men’s High Jump final, claiming his first World Title. The reigning Olympic champion jumped a height of 2,36 metres to claim the gold medal, with the USA’s JuVaughn Harrison finishing second on countback despite clearing the same height. Mutaz Barshim took the bronze after failing to clear 2,36m, a disappointment as this is the first time he hasn’t been crowned champion at a major championship since finishing second at Rio in 2016.

Zakithi Nene was also disappointed with his performance on the night, finishing sixth in the last of the 400m semifinals, in which two athletes including world leader Steven Gardiner pulled up injured, in 45.64 to miss out on a semifinal spot. “I almost pulled out myself with the tightness of my hammy, but I’m just glad I finished the race healthy and credit to everyone that qualified and went through,” he said afterwards.

Earlier in the evening there was happier news for sprint hurdler Marioné Fourie. The SA record holder finished third in her heat in 12.71 to automatically qualify for Wednesday’s semifinals.

“I was a little bit jittery at the start, I was a little bit nervous,” Fourie explained afterwards. “But I think the execution was OK… I think it was nerves, but the semifinals will definitely be better. I want another SA record.”

Taylon Bieldt missed out on the 100m hurdles semifinals after finishing seventh in her heat in 13.05.

Zeney van der Walt’s gruelling programme at these championships came to an end on Tuesday. Having doubled up with the 400m, the Commonwealth Games bronze medallist was back after those semifinals on Monday for the 400m hurdles semifinals on Tuesday night.

She admitted afterwards to being somewhat disappointed with her time of 55.49 for eighth place. “It was tough. I am a bit disappointed with the time. I would have loved it if it was a sub-55 season’s best, PB, but it wasn’t. But I’m still grateful to have been part of the semifinals.”

Karsten Warholm Sets Eyes on Gold

Despite hitting the second hurdle, world record holder Karsten Warholm cruised to victory in his 400m hurdles semifinal at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest on Monday. He joked afterwards that it was more of a problem for the hurdle than it had been for him – his time on the night a speedy 47.09 seconds. 19-year-old Jamaican Roshawn Clarke was second in a new world junior record of 47.34. Speaking after his semifinal, the Norwegian superstar reckoned: “Surely there is going to be someone who challenges me but today it was very good and I felt strong. The truth is that I ran a bit faster than I wanted to but what can I do when the others are running like hell too? The track can never be too fast.” Warholm will be looking to regain the world title he last won in 2019 in tonight’s final scheduled for 9.50pm.

Watch All Our Athlete Interviews!

Our team on the ground at Budapest have been interviewing all South African athletes after their respective events. To get an inside view into strategy and their thoughts on their performances, click the button below to see for yourself what it takes to compete on a world stage!



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Agony for Simbine while Van Niekerk secures semifinal spot

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There was more major championship heartbreak for Akani Simbine after he was disqualified from the 100m semifinals at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sunday for a false start.

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“I’m disappointed. I’ve never false started on the circuit, never false started at a championship, so I’m just very disappointed,” said a devastated Simbine. “I just know that I moved when the gun said go, because I’m generally a slow starter. But it is what it is.”

In Simbine’s absence in the evening final, it was Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo who brought glory to Southern Africa. The 20-year-old star stormed to a silver medal in a national record time of 9.88 behind American Noah Lyles who took gold in 9.83.

Earlier in the day Wayde van Niekerk cruised to victory in his opening 400m heat in a time of 44.57 to qualify for the semifinals. Zakithi Nene made a blunder at the end of his race to allow two athletes in front of him at the finish to deny him automatic qualification. His time of 44.88 was enough to see him safely through to the semifinals as one of the fastest losers, however.

Speaking after the race, Van Niekerk said: “The heats and the semifinals are about surviving so I had to read my competitors and gauge off of them. That’s what I did in the heats and I think it should be a similar strategy in the semis and then in the final we’ll give it what we’ve got left.”

Nene reckoned he would learn from his mistakes, saying: “I judged the race well to about 300 or 320m, and I thought the race was over then before it was even over. So that’s on me, poor judgement of the race but I’ll fix it in the semi.”

Also through to the women’s 400m semifinals was Zeney van der Walt, who is doubling up at these championships – also competing in the 400m hurdles. The Commonwealth Games bronze medallist finished third in her 400m heat in 51.76 to book a spot in Monday’s semifinals. She’ll also be contesting the 400m hurdles heats on Monday, with just over two hours to recover between the two races.

“It feels really great, it feels amazing to advance to the semifinals and I’m very excited,” said Van der Walt. “My coach and I decided to do both events this year to take the challenge and to see how my body can manage it and to use it as a stepping stone here.”

Watch All Our Athlete Interviews!

Our team on the ground at Budapest have been interviewing all South African athletes after their respective events. To get an inside view into strategy and their thoughts on their performances, click the button below to see for yourself what it takes to compete on a world stage!



Watch Athlete INTERVIEWS


Watch Day Two's Highlights